Virginia Via Research Day Book 2026

Medical Student Research Public Health

10 FROM CONCERN TO CONFIDENCE: NAVIGATING COMMON CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES TOGETHER

Brielle Hanratty OMS-II*, Caitlin Weaver OMS-II*, Yash Desai OMS-IV, Prutha Patel OMS-IV, Harsha Bhagtani, MD, FAAP, Sofia Abraham-Hardee, DO/PhD, FACOP, FAAP, CS Corresponding author: cweaver@vcom.edu

VCOM-Virginia, Blacksburg, Virginia

Context: Early childhood educators (ECEs) play a vital role in supporting children’s health and well being but often lack access to medical guidance when addressing common illnesses. To bridge this gap, our team created the “Coffee Chat” project, consisting of a series of virtual, discussion-based education sessions connecting ECEs with pediatricians and medical students. The project focused on common childhood conditions such as illnesses, trauma, and behavioral issues. The initial virtual sessions showed statistically significant improvements in educator confidence and knowledge (overall p < 0.001), with results published in Cureus and presented at the 2025 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference. Objective: Building on the success of the virtual model, this new phase aimed to assess whether an in-person, station-based format could further enhance ECE engagement and learning outcomes. The goal was to create an interactive educational model that could be sustained and expanded across regional conferences to promote collaboration between healthcare professionals and childcare providers, along with increasing the reach and impact of the project.

Methods: The in-person session, “From Concern to Confidence: Navigating Common Childhood Illnesses Together”, was delivered at the 2025 Igniting Connections regional early childhood education conference. Three interactive stations were developed consisting of Fever, Cough, and an Educator Question and Answer/Educator Hacks Wall where participants rotated through interactive sessions and brief discussions led by pediatricians and medical students. A combined pre- and post-survey was distributed via a quick response (QR) code, designed with statistical consultation to improve reliability and minimize prior limitations identified in the virtual iteration of the project. Data collection focused on changes in self-reported knowledge, confidence, and resource awareness. Using paired data, we conducted a complete-case analysis. Pre- and post-responses were merged using an anonymous identifier. Paired-sa mples t-tests were used to analyze changes in confidence across scales (Total Score, Cough Questions, Fever Questions, Recognizing Red Flag Signs, Knowledge of Resources Available), and Cohen’s dz was calculated for effect size. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were ru n as a robustness check.

Results: Nineteen participants had paired data. Confidence scores increased across every scale. Total confidence rose from 29.74 to 37.26 (mean change 7.53, p < .001, Cohen’s dz = 1.32). Cough confidence increased by 2.58 points (p < .001). Fever confidence increased by 2.79 points (p < .001). Recognition of red-flag symptoms increased by 1.00 point (p < .01). Resource confidence increased by 1.16 points (p < .001). All effect sizes were large, and Wilcoxon results supported the same pattern of improvement. Conclusion: The in-person, station-based format produced meaningful gains in educator confidence and was well-received by participants. The results suggest that combining interactive activities with real-time access to medical professionals can be an effective next step in expanding the impact of the Coffee Chat project. Preliminary findings support continued development of this model at future regional and statewide conferences. IRB approval from the original Coffee Chat study (Protocol #2120724-1) remains in effect for this extension.

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24 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)